Mary Berry says her parents were never proud of her cooking skills.
Mary Berry
The former 'Great British Bake Off' judge has opened up about her parents' attitudes to her career as a food writer and baker, and while she described it as a "different era" she still felt that they were "disappointed" in her, especially when she was at school.
Asked if her mother and father - housewife Marjorie and surveyor Alleyne - were "proud", she told BBC Good Food: "No, not at all. Although they were pleased I did well at domestic science, and that I used to bring nice things home to eat.
"But it was a different era - we were almost 'seen and not heard'. My parents weren't involved with us, and I sensed their disappointment."
Mary, now 84, moved to London when she was 22 years old to take on a job as a cook for the Dutch Dairy Bureau, and while he dad was "shocked" - even travelling from Bath to "check out" the man who offered her the role - nothing was going to sway her from taking up the opportunity.
Noting she wasn't allowed to leave home until she turned 21, she added: "No [it didn't stop me] - I knew I wanted to go to London, I didn't mind how hard I worked, and even though I didn't have the backing of my parents, it was great."
Tagged in Mary Berry